The world needs good Samaritans who are willing to be disturbed and to be side-tracked to help a stranger in need.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells the story of the good Samaritan. It is one of the parables that we are most familiar with.

At the end of the story, the scholar of the law correctly answered Jesus that the one who was neighbor to the man in need was the Samaritan who showed mercy.

There are many lessons we can learn from this story. But, what struck me today was how the Samaritan went out of his way and spent his precious time and resources to care for a stranger in need.

Not only did the Samaritan help the man who was near death, he also poured wine and oil over his wounds, bandaged them, took him to an inn, and took further care of him.

Imagine the amount of time the Samaritan spent for the man. Imagine the hassle, the plans that were not followed to the letter, the deadlines that were not met, and the to-dos that were left unticked — all because he wanted to help a stranger in need.

The world needs good Samaritans who will make time to help others — by getting involved in outreach programs, by helping communities, by organizing non-profits.

But, more importantly, the world needs good Samaritans who will take time each day, despite their busy schedules, their loaded to-do lists, and their deadlines to care for others.

The world needs good Samaritans who are willing to be disturbed and to be side-tracked to help a stranger in need.